


A Fall Colored Penny

by Twilightdusk



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:29:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22781026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twilightdusk/pseuds/Twilightdusk
Summary: Penny had a plan to stay in Beacon, even if she didn't know what it would entail.Volume 3 spoilers.
Relationships: Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	1. Recovery

>  
Booting up P.E.N.N.Y  
Latest version: 3.9.20160116123459  
Latest backup: 3.9.20160116000000  
Searching for CCT....  
Vale CCT Tower identified.  
Connecting to Vale CCT....

ERROR: CCT time does not match internal time 

Running self-diagnostic

Checking Core Integrity.....98% [ OK ]  
Checking Aura Levels....23% [ DANGER ]  
Checking Structural Integrity....43% [ DANGER ]  
Display details? [Y/n]  
>n  
Starting structural repairs  
ERROR: Aura levels too low. Repairs suspended.  
Checking Mental Processes....75% [ WARNING ]  
Checking Thought Module....85% [ OK ]  
Transfer To Thought Module? [Y/n]  
>Y 

Penny did not like this. She did not like being like this, this...computerized thought. Compared to her usual self, it felt as though she were floating in a formless void with text running through her mind. She was only like this after something bad happened, and that did not help with her feelings. Something bad...she had to try to remember what happened to her.

>Load srtMem.memory

ERROR: Short term memory errors detected. Running errorcheck.  
INFO: 2 saved memory fragments detected. Play fragments? [1/2/n]  
>

Penny wasn't surprised, if something bad happened she should have tried to save at least a short memory of what happened, to help her Father and the scientists determine what happened. Were they watching this feed? It was impossible for her to know, and it didn't really matter.

>1

Playing fragment 1:

* * *

"Ruby, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about. I want to stay at Beacon."

Penny was standing by one of the stairwells into Amity Colosseum. Her teammate Ciel Soleil was standing off to the side while she was discussing things with Ruby.

Ruby frowned slightly "Penny, they'll never let you do that."

Penny frowned a bit, she had been hoping her friend would be more enthusiastic about the topic "I know, but I have a plan." Penny smiled to herself. She did have a plan, a risky one, but an important one. Mister Ironwood had started to tell her about his plans for her after all, about how she was destined to be a protector of the people, and how her first step would be here at the Tournament, and specifically here at Vale. She just had to learn more, she had to figure out this destiny, and find a way to use it to keep herself in Vale.

Ciel stepped in before she could say any of that to Ruby however, and insisted they continue back to their quarters, but Penny made a point to commit this moment to memory. She WILL succeed, she will find a way to stay here at Beacon, whatever it took.

* * *

End of fragment. Play next fragment? [Y/n/r]  
>

Penny would frown if she had a form at that moment. This memory was definitely important to her, but it didn't have much to do with her current situation. At least...she hoped it didn't. There was still another fragment, maybe that one would be more recent.

>Y

Playing fragment 2:

* * *

Penny was smiling as she faced down Pyrrha from across the battlefield. Unlike the previous rounds of the tournament, this battle had been exciting, for lack of a more precise term. The 4v4 round had basically amounted to her picking off opponents one by one while her teammates kept the other opponents distracted, and the 2v2 round was over in a matter of moments, but this fight was forcing her to use so many more of her fighting techniques. And more than that, it was forcing her to react on the fly, to adapt to the situation, to creatively use her Floating Array to defend and save herself. It was the sort of battle that came to mind when everyone had been describing the Vytal Festival Tournament to her in the first place, and she was genuinely happy to be a part of it.

'And like those battles, I should finish it with something big.' She thought to herself and grinned. Pyrrha was disarmed and looked rather disoriented, she had looked that way since the start, like she was thinking about something else, but it hadn't stopped her from being a formidable opponent. Penny prepared for her finishing strike, lifting her arms and guiding all eight of her blades above her head, all of them tensed, ready to dive forward for a finishing blow, all she had to do was-

"STOP THE FIGHT!"

Penny was startled by the sound of her friend Ruby's voice. She should be focused on the fight, but she couldn't help but glance off towards the side, where her friend's voice was coming from. Ruby was panting desperately for air as she leaned against a wall by the maintenance hallway, a quick scan indicated she was hurt, one of her legs was limping and she was struggling to stay on her feet. The door behind her opened for a moment, a boy with gray hair poked his head out before scowling and quickly drawing back inside.

Penny considered the image for a moment. The boy she saw matched Mercury Black, but that didn't make any sense, Mercury had been hurt after last round and was being transported back to his home. Why would he be there? And why would Ruby be saying to stop fighting...something was very wrong. Penny nodded her head and relaxed her stance, guiding her blades to fold back into her backpack before facing towards Pyrrha again.

Pyrrha was still stumbling and disoriented, Penny wasn't sure if she'd heard the outburst herself. Her eyes seemed strangely...unfocused as they looked towards her, and then she looked down and gripped her head before spreading her arms out quickly to her sides, a wave of black aura rushing towards her and h1rary aer 213.4!@4512.## 321#!$@#% 2!#%^!!#-

* * *

ERROR: Memory corruption detected. Aborting playback.  
>

Penny would have screamed if she could as the memory came to a close. The sudden jerk back to this mode of thought seemed similar to waking up from a nightmare. It took a few moments to collect her thoughts afterward. That must be why she was like this right now, whatever Pyrrha had done to her must have knocked her out, and done some significant damage to her based on the diagnostic results. Given the circumstances, she was probably recovered from the scene, and hopefully in the care of her "doctors," a team of Atlas scientists who were responsible for her care while they were at the festival.

>sensorCheck

All senses offline.  
Checking sensor status:  
Visual sensors....92% [ OK ]  
Audio sensors....89% [ OK ]  
Olfactory sensors...65% [ WARNING ]   
Tactile sensors...13% [ DANGER ]   
Recommendations: Visual, Audio.

>sensorStart Visual; sensorStart Audio;

Starting visual sensors.  
Starting audio sensors.

* * *

Penny's eyes spun quietly like a focusing camera lens. In front of her was a silver sliding door, she recognized it as the door of an elevator, one she was presumably riding in. She attempted to move her head, but it did not respond, in her mind she got a number of warnings about mobility processes being too badly damaged. With her limited field of view, she identified a pair of shadows to her left and right, at least two other people were in the elevator with her. She wondered who they were as her audio sensors finished booting up, and a voice faded into being to her left.

"...still can't believe you really went ahead with that project over my warnings." Rather than the scientist she was expecting, Penny heard the voice of Professor Ozpin. Penny's heart sank at the realization that he was there, seeing her in a no doubt damaged state, and talking about a project...Mister Ironwood had impressed to her to keep her nature a secret from Ozpin, even more strictly than her general instructions to keep her nature secret. 

"I know this is a long elevator ride, but do we have to keep bringing that up on it Oz?" From her right this time was the voice of Mister Ironwood. Hearing him replaced Penny's panic with confusion, starting to seriously wonder what was going on, and wishing she could vocalize her questions. "Besides," Ironwood continued, "Your fears were ultimately unfounded weren't they? Even you couldn't tell she was anything but an ordinary girl."

"Ordinary is a stretch." Ozpin sighed loudly, "But I must admit in the context of a huntress in training, she didn't seem particularly unusual no." There was a pause as the elevator stopped and the door opened into a very tall hallway with dim, eerie lights that gave the location an ominous feeling. Penny heard the sound of wheels turning as her vision moved forward, and came to the conclusion that she was being wheeled somewhere. "Still...you're really intent on attempting this?"

"For the tenth time, I'm not going to do it until we can confirm she's aware and consenting to it. The scientists we sent ahead should be able to fix her up enough to ask." Penny felt relieved to hear that. With how much damage her aura had taken during the fight, she wasn't able to repair herself to any extent, the assistance would be most appreciated.

"And Amber?" Ozpin spoke up again.

Ironwood sighed heavily. "We'll do it your way. We'll introduce them, and let her...pass on. We'll take the risk for what will happen."

"Very good. I had no say in taking your risk after all." Ozpin's voice sounded oddly happy for making a jab at the General as the three turned a corner. Penny saw a complicated looking machine with two pods designed to hold people. One of the pods was occupied. Penny took a closer look, the girl seemed relatively young with brown hair and light brown skin, with some patches of darker skin around one of her eyes like she had been scarred. 

A pair of scientists stood over the machines, one of them turned and waved as the three approached "Bring her over here, we have the pod configured for her." Penny was brought closer to the machine and her vision shifted as she was picked up and placed into the pod. She felt something plug in near her shoulder blade, a familiar sensation from maintenance checkups. She felt her 'mind' connecting to a computer, instantaneously sharing her self-diagnostic results, and in turn information from the pod was fed back to her. She could access a camera on the inside of the pod and see herself, always an unusual situation, but in this case she was met with a relieving sight. Despite her internal results, she looked more or less intact as herself, no obvious external damage. The issues with her integrity must be a combination of internal workings and sensor errors, both of which should be able to repair relatively easily from her aura once it has time to recover. 

"Thank goodness. I was worried I had sustained more major damage." Penny's eyes blinked as she heard her voice. Her internal warnings were still insisting that her vocalization hardware was too damaged, but it seemed whatever she was plugged into included a speaker she could talk through. Ironwood sighed in relief and placed a hand on his chest, evidently he was relieved to hear her voice as well.

Ozpin stepped forward, tapping his cane against the ground to draw attention. "Good evening Miss Polendina. I don't think I have to tell you that there was a bit of an...incident during your tournament fight. How much do you remember?"

"Salutations Professor Ozpin." Penny so badly wished she could move her body to provide a proper wave or salute to accompany her greeting, but she was still rather immobile. "I remember being in the fight. I was about to attack Pyrrha Nikos and then I heard Ruby shouting to stop the fight. I saw her, and I..." Penny paused, wondering if she should share what she saw. It didn't make sense after all...but maybe that fact would help them decide what to do. "I saw Mercury Black for a moment behind her. I put away my weapons and faced Pyrrha, and then she did...something. That's about all I remember until er, waking up in the elevator just now. I apologize that I could not tell you I was awake."

Ozpin's eyes widened a little as Ironwood cleared his throat. "Thank you Penny. We are aware of Black's presence at the Colosseum. We've spoken with Miss Rose who confirmed exactly what you just said, and behind the scenes we're doing our best to investigate what is going on with him and his team."

"If you're concerned about public knowledge," Ozpin spoke up to take over the explanation, "Miss Nikos' semblance is not widely known, as far as most are aware it is simply able to knock people out. Nowhere close to the truth naturally, but it explains what happened in a believable fashion. Miss Nikos has been credited with the victory, and by now the remaining finals matches should be back underway." Ozpin glanced over to the side and accepted a scroll from one of the scientists, turning it towards Penny to let her see a few moments of video, Sun Wukong from Haven fighting against Chrome Jet from Atlas.

"As for where you are, and why you're here..." Ironwood started, and he and Ozpin took turns for each other explaining the Maidens to Penny. She understood that the girl in the other pod, Amber, was the current Fall Maiden. She understood that some of her power had been stolen, and she was being kept alive with Atlas technology. As they told their story, the scientists started work on her repairs, eventually getting her to the point that she could turn her head, and speak through her mouth instead of the machine's speaker. She was still too unstable to stand up on her own unfortunately.

"...The Penny Project was originally meant to help defend Atlas." Ironwood was continuing to speak. "However, when Professor...well, when your Father proposed that you could sustain your own aura, it created an idea for us."

"For you." Ozpin pointedly interjected, adjusting his glasses as he gave a side-glare towards the General.

Ironwood cleared his throat. "For me...that if you could sustain an Aura, you could probably sustain more than that. Penny...do you remember when I told you I was expecting great things from you? That there were dangers in the world I wanted you to help protect everyone from?"

Penny nodded her head. She remembered Mister Ironwood telling her she'd save the world someday, did that have to do with that story? With the Maidens...? Penny's eyes widened as she responded. "You...want me to become a maiden...?"

Ironwood smiled and nodded his head. "Yes Penny, that's exactly what I want from you. Earlier Ozpin wanted Miss Nikos to become the maiden, however..." He turned to Ozpin, allowing him to sigh and continue.

"We spoke with her after your fight, she was only more torn up about the possibility after what she did to you by accident. She said she couldn't...trust herself with the power, and apologized profusely." Ozpin tapped his cane thoughtfully against the ground. "In light of that, and after having the opportunity to...discuss the situation with James, we're willing to attempt transferring the powers to you instead, assuming you are willing."

Penny considered everything she'd been told. She considered the power of the Maidens, the dangers they were protecting the world from. And she considered her promise with Ruby, that she would find a way to remain in Beacon. She nodded her head. "Yes. I am Maiden Ready!" Penny smiled cheerfully at her own little joke, even as Ozpin and Ironwood simply exchanged glances at it.

Ironwood looked over at the other pod and nodded his head. One of the scientists pressed some buttons and the pods began to move. Penny was able to see the other girl, Amber, more closely. Even as she was kept asleep, she seemed so...sad, somehow. With the sound of some more buttons, some lights changed on Amber's pod, and her eyes slowly opened. "Oz...? Is that you...?" Her voice was weak as she glanced around. She sighed and smiled as Ozpin walked into her field of view and nodded his head.

"It's been a while Amber, I am truly sorry we couldn't do more for you." Ozpin sighed himself and looked down, gripping his cane more tightly.

Amber chuckled softly "You did what you could, you all did. My fate was sealed on that day, however long ago it was." She kept a soft smile on her face as she looked to Penny in the other pod. "Is this girl...your choice?" Ozpin nodded his head, and Amber looked up and down Penny's body. "Orange and green...fitting enough. Tell me, what is your name?"

Penny felt nervous as she continued to lay immobile in her pod. She tried not to think about what was going to happen to the other girl, she just focused on what she needed to do. "Salutations Miss Amber. My name is Penny Polendina, it is a pleasure to meet you." Penny once again attempted to move her arm, only to hear the buzz of warnings in her mind. She glanced down at the arm herself, it didn't look that damaged, but the internal workings still needed time to repair themselves.

Amber chuckled again "Penny...that's a nice name. It looks like you've had a run in of your own huh...?" Penny continued looking away, unsure how to respond, so Amber continued. "Penny...soon I will pass on, and I suppose you will inherit my power. You seem a bit strange, but that's probably for the best." Amber looked down towards the ground, and spoke as if she was quoting someone else. "Fall is a season of change, the bright Summer has passed, but the harsh Winter has yet to arrive." She sighed gently and looked back up to Penny with a smile. "Be yourself, be true to yourself, and I'm sure you'll do fine. Farewell Penny, and good luck." She smiled one last time and nodded her head before laying her head back down. Penny heard a monitor near her start to give off a high pitched beep.

Penny also felt a sudden rush of energy that made her gasp in surprise. Her arms jerked up to hold against her chest, and her green aura pulsed around her body. She felt strong, yet empty. She felt relieved and yet pained. She gasped out and then let out a scream all as she felt a buildup of energy, something different yet similar to her aura, building around her right eye. She checked the camera she was still plugged into. To that, and to everyone else, it appeared as though a green flame was trailing along the outline of her eye.


	2. At Rest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time is a fuzzy thing in RWBY, but taking various hints from dialogue and the Volume 3-4 timeskip, I'm operating on the logic of Beacon having a Spring-Summer semester followed by a Summer-Fall semester, with Winter being the longer break, similar to Summer break in American schools/colleges. Thus, after the Vytal Festival, rather than going right back to classes, teams RWBY and JNPR have some time to themselves first.

It was a calm winter afternoon on the island of Patch. Snow clung against the ground and tree branches from the previous night's storm, marked with the small tracks of winter animals. The air was tranquil and quiet, until suddenly it was broken by a rush of air, as two young women lunged at each other. Ruby let out a battle cry, further disturbing the peaceful surroundings, as she swung her arm towards Yang's side, only for it to be caught mid-swing, and then used to lift her into the air and then down onto her back.

"Come on sis, is that all you got?" Yang smirked as she reached to take Ruby's hand, helping her back up onto her feet.

Ruby groaned and held her head with one of her hands "Do you have to keep flipping me over like that when you catch me?"

Yang crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Ruby "Uh yea, obviously I'm going to keep doing it until you can figure out how to stop me. This is training after all, and you really need to work on your hand to hand."

Ruby groaned again and poked her index fingers together nervously, looking off to the side "C-can't we take a break from this and practice with our weapons instead? I'd totally be able to win a few rounds if I could use Crescent Rose~ Besides I'm sure she's lonely without me just sitting back in the house!"

Yang kept her pose and frowned at her sister and team leader. "Just like you toootally would have been able to beat Mercury if you had it with you back then right?"

Ruby's eyes widened as she looked back to Yang, her expression shifting quickly between surprise, anger, and embarrassment. "I-I, that's...rrAAAH!" Ruby let out another cry as she charged at Yang one more time, only to quickly find herself on her back again, and this time with her older sister casually sitting down on her stomach. "RRrh! Yang, let me up!"

Yang sighed and shook her head, remaining right where she was. "Nuh-uh sis, I know I can be a hothead sometimes but even I can see that you just need to lie down for a minute and stop freaking out." Ruby growled in frustration before sighing and giving in, letting her arms fall to her side as she took some deep breaths on the ground. After a few moments Yang stood up, only to sit back down next to Ruby this time. "Feel like talking about it a bit?"

Ruby let out a long sigh as she sat up on the ground, looking to the side and rubbing the back of her head nervously. "You know why I'm frustrated already, it's not like there's anything to talk about."

Yang hummed gently as she leaned back to lay against the snow. "Maybe there's not, but if it's still eating you it might help to get it off your chest again."

Ruby sighed again as she leaned back a little herself, arms braced behind her on the ground as she looked up at the sky. "It's just...I should have been able to do more you know? I saw Emerald there and nobody else seemed to notice, and then I saw Mercury in the hallway while the match was starting...I managed to get away from him and call out to Penny but she still..." She bit her lip and her hands balled into fists as she looked down towards the ground.

Yang sat back up and reached to put her hand on Ruby's shoulder "Hey listen, everything's fine right? You were talking to Ironwood after that whole thing and he said Penny was going to be fine didn't he?"

Ruby gritted her teeth and turned quickly towards Yang "B-but, what if he was just saying that!? If Penny's fine then why couldn't, why did-!" Ruby's angry expression suddenly softened as tears started to form in her eyes. She caught herself and turned away again, wiping them dry against her sleeve. "...I never even got a chance to say goodbye to her. What if I had been just a little faster, or if Mercury hadn't been able to stall me as much? I-I could have-"

"You could have done a lot less and that fight could have ended a lot worse." Yang insistently clasped Ruby's shoulder again, smiling at her. "You were the one going on and on about how crazy those weapons of hers were right? If she hadn't put them away before Pyrrha freaked out with that magnet wave thing she'd have been in a lot more trouble right?"

Ruby sniffed and nodded her head, and let her head fall to lean against Yang's shoulder. The two sisters sat like that for several long moments until Ruby wiped her eyes again. "Thanks sis...I think it did help to talk in the end huh?"

Yang smiled and playfully punched Ruby in the arm "Not a problem sis. Just make sure you don't go crying like that in front of the first years when we get back to school, you have an example to set now you know." 

"H-Hey I wasn't..." Ruby started to talk before sighing. "Yea OK I was crying a little there. It's a little crazy to think we'll be sophomores soon huh? I mean, being a freshman at beacon was one thing but now there will be students older than me who are newer. And they never did figure out what happened with Mercury and his team huh?"

Yang continued smiling and curiously reached into her pocket, her scroll buzzing with a message. "Well just remember, we're not going to be doing any of it on our own."

* * *

"You are aware that it's rude to be doing things on you scroll while eating right?" Weiss gave a deadpan look towards Blake as she set down her coffee and picked up her knife and fork to start cutting a smaller piece out of the sandwich in front of her.

The bow on Blake's head twitched as she looked up from her device, just having sent Yang a picture of the cafe they were sitting in. "Ah, sorry. I guess I'm still not used to eating at places like this." She tucked the scroll into her pocket and picked up her own sandwich, taking a quick bite out of it.

The two sat quietly inside a downtown Vale cafe as they ate, Blake taking sips of her tea while Weiss gradually worked on her coffee. Around them was the low hum of chatter from the other patrons, and the sounds of cars and bystanders passing by outside. By all accounts it was a peaceful day in the city, things getting back to normal after the excitement of the festival.

"So." Weiss spoke up after setting down her coffee cup again. "How have things been going on your end?" 

Blake blinked in confusion, finishing biting into her food and setting it down as she paused to swallow. "On my end? I'm not really sure what you mean."

Weiss smirked a little as she lifted her cup again. "You know what I'm talking about. Both of us are doing winter jobs for the city since we're staying here, and I can say that mine is going just swimmingly, but I have no idea how your job is going. So, how is it going?" She took a sip of her drink while waiting for Blake's answer.

Blake sighed gently and reached to take a sip of her tea while she thought about how to answer. "You know that I can't say too much, I've been helping out the Vale City Police after all."

"Oh come now, it's not like police work is some carefully guarded secret. You can at least let me know why you've been so busy it took weeks to set up this lunch together." 

Blake looked off to the side before sighing in defeat, pulling her chair a little closer to the table and leaning forward. "Alright alright, just promise to keep your voice down. I've been busy because...there's been more White Fang activity in the city recently."

"White Fa-!" Weiss' eyes widened in surprise, and she covered her mouth quickly when Blake glared at her. She glanced around to make sure nobody paid any mind to her outburst before leaning closer as well. "You're sure? I thought they went quiet after the mission in Mountain Glenn."

Blake nodded her head. "Yea, that's what it looked like, and honestly I'm still not sure why. Maybe they got scared for a while or maybe they were planning something. But ever since the festival ended, they've been slowly scaling things back up. Some robberies here, some vandalism there, petty crimes in the grand scheme of things but it's still them, and it's getting more and more common."

Weiss nodded her head, bringing her fork to her mouth to chew on more of her meal as she thought things over. "I see. So you've been, what, helping them go in and arrest those an-" Weiss stopped herself and cleared her throat "Those ne'er-do-wells?"

Blake tilted her head at her teammate's word choice, but shrugged and finished the last bite of her own food. "Not exactly. Recommendation from Beacon aside, I'm not a licenced huntress yet, and this isn't exactly an official training mission, so they can't really let me be on the frontlines so to speak. I'm just helping track things down, predicting where their hideouts might be, that sort of thing."

Weiss nodded her head "So not exactly storming in during a robbery and holding anyone at swordpoint then." She smirked playfully as Blake sent her a glare. "Relax, you know I'm just teasing. It's like I said months ago, we're still students in the end. Someday we'll be the heroes storming in to save the day, but until then, jobs like these are important."

Blake nodded her head and smiled. "Yea, I guess it's important to be reminded of that sometimes. What sort of work are you doing anyway?"

Weiss chuckled and waved her hand dismissively "Oh nothing so exciting. After that whole stunt with the train, the city is reconsidering if those tracks can be repurposed somehow instead of just sealed off. As someone who was there to see the state of them and has some experience with logistics, I've been contributing my opinions to that. Suppose all that training to inherit the company can actually be put to some good use for once."

"Yea, who knew it could be useful for something other than keeping the Faunus down at the bottom." Blake chuckled as Weiss gave her a less than amused glare. "Kidding, I had to get you back somehow right?"

Weiss sighed and then blinked as she felt her scroll vibrate, and she noticed Blake's do the same. She pulled out the device and looked at the message on it, smiling to herself "Well, at least some of our friends are able to relax more than we are over this break."

* * *

"Hey uh, Nora? I don't think you need to take that many pictures of Pyrrha's place." Jaune chuckled as he watched Nora taking picture after picture of the room they were sitting in with her scroll.

"Um, hello!? Yes I do, are we not seeing the same amazing house here!?" Nora stared at her team leader dumbstruck as she gestured to the large building they were currently sitting in. Overall it reminded the group more of Beacon's ballroom than any house they had seen previously.

"Nora, we are all seeing the same house. But I do not believe team RWBY needs to have..." Ren casually grabbed the scroll from Nora's outstretched hands and checked the message she sent out. "seventy-two separate pictures of Pyrrha's home."

"Ugh, you two are so boring!" Nora just as casually snatched her scroll back before dramatically collapsing into a couch. "It's our first time visiting Argus, and that's already like the biggest non-capital city in the WORLD, and on top of that our teammate lives in a big fancy place like this!? How are you staying so calm about it?" 

Jaune chuckled to himself again, rubbing his neck as he glanced around the room. They were sitting in a room that would easily pass as the main sitting room in most homes, but this just felt like one of many attached to a wide main hall. He could see a long dining table in one of the rooms beyond it, and a pair of sweeping staircases leading up to bedrooms and presumably other things on the second floor. "I'm not denying that it's a lot to take in, but I guess it feels somehow...appropriate?"

Ren nodded his head in agreement. "Pyrrha was somewhat famous around here even before she left for Beacon."

"Guys, seriously! Be a little more excited about the fact that we're STAYING in a swanky place like this! Oh I know! We should throw a party! That'll set the scale of this place properly! Oh we could have punch bowls over there, and chocolates set up over there..."

"Sorry, as fun as that might be I don't think I should be throwing any parties." The three teammates turned their head as Pyrrha came walking down the stairs, smiling down at them.

Jaune smiled brightly seeing his partner and teammate. "So, everything's worked out for us to stay here while we're in Argus? I mean, we could still find a hotel room somewhere instead."

Pyrrha laughed gently at that and waved her hand dismissively "Nonsense, you're my team, and my friends at that. Besides, it's not like we don't have the room." Pyrrha chuckled as she glanced back towards the upper floor. "Ren, Nora, your rooms are over....there." She pointed in one direction on the upper floors and the pair were off like a bolt. Or more specifically, Nora dragged Ren along behind her as they went to explore their rooms, leaving Pyrrha alone with Jaune in the sitting area.

Jaune chuckled himself at their teammate's behavior "Those two never change huh?"

"Would they be themselves if they did?" Pyrrha smiled as she took a seat across from Jaune and sighed as she sat down.

The two sat together in silence for a few moments, eventually broken by Jaune "So ah, feels nice coming home?" 

"Hm? Oh yes, it does feel...nice I suppose." Pyrrha forced a smile on her face as she looked back over to her team leader.

Jaune frowned and stood up, walking over and sitting down again next to Pyrrha. "Hey um, is everything OK? You've been kinda out of it ever since the tournament, and I like to think I'd be able to say that even if I wasn't still sore from the last time we talked like this." He rubbed his shoulder as he spoke.

Pyrrha's eyes widened, "Oh Jaune! I'm so sorry, should I get you something to help with that?"

Jaune chuckled and shook his head "Hey I'll be fine, you're the one I'm more worried about. You won that first finals match but it kinda felt like you were just...out of the mood to fight or something after that."

Pyrrha frowned and looked down towards the ground, sighing heavily. "I...guess I can't really hide it from you Jaune. I've had a lot on my mind, especially after that fight. I...I didn't know my semblance would do something like that to that poor girl, and I was...seeing things. It was like during that entire fight I was in some kind of nightmare."

Jaune rubbed the back of his neck nervously before reaching down to hold Pyrrha's hand. "Hey, it's OK, it'll be OK. You already had all that stuff on your mind before that right? You were just in a bad spot is all, and the stress from the match must have only made it worse."

Pyrrha let out a long sigh as she gently gripped back at Jaune's hand. "You're right...I did have a lot on my mind, and I still do."

"In that case, we just have to make sure this break is the most relaxing one you've ever had right?" Jaune smiled at her.

Pyrrha chuckled gently and nodded her head. "You're right. I'll relax as much as I can and go back to beacon fit as a fiddle."

"You GUYS!" Their attention was suddenly drawn to Nora excitedly bounding down the stairs. "Ren and I were looking out our windows, why didn't you tell us there was a street fair going on!? I'm going to eat all the fried dough I can carry!" She bounded out towards the front doors, followed by an exasperated Ren.

"I'd ah, better go keep an eye on her huh. Wanna come check out the fair with us?" Jaune stood up from his seat and extended his hand towards Pyrrha.

The red haired woman smiled but shook her head "I appreciate the offer but I think I've had enough festivals for a while. You three go enjoy yourselves."

Jaune frowned a little as he retracted his arm "Oh ah, I see. W-well then, we'll catch up more later, assuming I can drag Nora away from the fair food." He forced a smile again before turning and heading out to follow them.

Pyrrha smiled and waved as he head off, and sighed again as she heard the door close. She sat back more heavily in her seat and stared up at the ceiling. "I hope I made the right choice. I'm sure professor Ozpin found someone else to be the new maiden..." The thought didn't really comfort her as she sighed again and closed her eyes.

* * *

"Again." Professor Ozpin's voice echoed through the room as Penny stared down a series of targets. She took a breath before extending her arm towards them in turn, balls of fire forming in her hand and flying towards each of them as she directed herself towards them. As the smoke cleared, her eyes spun quietly as she looked closely at the results. Two of her shots were off center in different directions, but the last one managed to hit its mark. She smiled seeing that result, and looked down at the hand she shot the fire from.

Ozpin smiled and took a sip from his mug as he walked towards the redhead robot. "I think that's enough for now. How are you feeling?"

Penny smiled as she turned to face the professor. At the question, she hummed and closed her eyes in thought. "All systems are normal Professor Ozpin. Although, I am still having some trouble...assessing my magic." She frowned gently as she looked down at her hand. Checking the status readouts of her body parts, aura levels, power reserves, and other things was second nature to her by now, but measuring the new magical power she'd been granted still eluded her. Having some part of herself she couldn't accurately measure was strange, concerning, and yet exciting at the same time.

"That's to be expected, it's not like measuring magic is any part of what you were designed for, nor do I believe even the top Atlas scientists would be able to come up with a way to measure it." Ozpin gently took Penny's hand and closed his eyes. "On top of that...thanks to whatever Amber's assailant did, you don't have the full power you would normally have access to, I can't imagine that makes things any easier." Penny nodded her head gently as she looked down at where their hands joined. "In any case..." The professor drew his hand away and smiled as he turned towards the door. "I'm sure you've had enough of being cooped up down here for today. Why don't we go take a walk outside? I'd caution you about the cold but well, you are from Atlas after all." 

Penny chuckled at the joke and nodded her head. "Yes, I would love to join you for a walk Professor. Although, are you sure it's alright?" She suddenly frowned and stopped midstep. "What I mean to say is, you are a very busy man, Mister Ironwood told me that even before I was fully aware of the scale of your efforts. Is it really okay for you to spend this much time with me?"

Ozpin turned his head and smiled. "You are correct, I am a very busy man. There's a lot that I need to keep track of and keep organized just running this school, let alone everything else. But among everything I'm responsible for, I'd like to say that training and looking after the Fall Maiden is among my most important..." He sighed sadly. "Especially since I wasn't able to keep Amber safe." He paused for a moment and then turned to Penny more fully "Amber may no longer be with us, but you are here now, and if there's one thing I've learned throughout my years it's that we can't cling to the past, especially in terms of lives lost."

Penny nodded her head and finished walking closer to Ozpin. "I think I can understand that Professor Ozpin. If it's alright for me to continue asking, it won't be a problem if I'm seen walking around the academy will it?"

Ozpin smiled at that and turned to walk with her towards the door, out into the tall, wide hallway of the vault and then in the direction of the elevator. "I can't imagine such a thing would cause any problems Penny. After all, what kind of headmaster would I be if I wasn't showing a prospective transfer student around the school grounds?" 

Penny smiled brightly and nodded her head as she followed the professor. "Understood." She couldn't help but smile more as she thought about that part of things. Starting next semester, she'd be a student at Beacon, just like Ruby, and just like she'd promised, even if the route there was stranger than she had expected. At that moment she felt like everything was just going to work out.

* * *

"Again!" Cinder growled the order out at her two subordinates. Mercury hastily set up a new trio of wooden dummies at the back of the warehouse they were staged in, and then Emerald focused on her power, transforming the targets into some of her currently most hated people. The one on the left was that Ruby girl who'd managed to throw the biggest wrench into her plan at the tournament. The middle one was Penny, that tool who couldn't properly play her role during that fight. And the one on the right was Torchwick, that coward who was completely missing in action now, even though the plan to break him out of that Atlas ship should have gone as planned still. Cinder roared out as she swept her arm out towards the three, a wave of flames shooting out from her towards the targets, searing them and setting them on fire, and nearly singing Mercury as he dove out of the way. She let out ragged pants of air as she walked over to a crate and sat down, bringing a hand up to massage her forehead.

"C-Cinder! are you al-" Emerald quickly moved to walk over to her, only to stop as Cinder raised her hand.

"I'm _fine_. Leave me, go...I don't know, find some of those white fang grunts and help them with whatever they're trying to do." 

Emerald and Mercury exchanged glances before turning and heading out together, leaving Cinder alone to stew in her thoughts. The plan at the tournament had been beyond fumbled, she had set up everything to be triggered by that one moment that didn't happen because one too-curious girl got ahead of her Mercury, and then that dust-damned robot listened to her instead of continuing to fight against that so self-confident Nikos. Emerald had played her party perfectly, and technically Mercury's only mistake had been showing himself to the Rose child when she had ordered him to stay out of sight, and if he hadn't tried to intervene she would have just gotten to Emerald and distracted her from her task anyway. Then Torchwick...Cinder sighed. She shouldn't be so surprised that he took off for Gods know where after her side of the plan didn't amount to anything, assuming Neo still managed to break him out, but that girl at least has been nothing if not reliable.

Cinder took a deep breath and looked down to the palm of her hand, forcing a flame into being for a few moments before it vanished, and she reached to massage her head more. By now she should have toppled Beacon and been scaling up her practice with the maiden powers, not sitting in a dark and dreary hideout needing to take a breather from practicing with the part she previously managed to steal. If only that damned Qrow hadn't interrupted her in the first place none of this would even matter, she'd have had her main goal already.

She let out another heavy sigh as she stood up, walking over to a mirror and looking at herself in it. She still stood tall and confident, she still had managed something nobody in the history of Remnant had accomplished. She was Cinder Fall, and sooner or later she _would_ become the Fall Maiden.


End file.
